2022-04-12
Romans 12:3 NIV
We have exaggerated ideas about our capabilities. We like to think we can do it all. But no matter how disciplined you are or how hard you try, without a “sane estimate of your capabilities,” you’re setting yourself up to fail.
John Ortberg says: “Willpower is… finite… You don’t get separate stockpiles for different areas… That’s why a long list of New Year’s resolutions is almost certainly doomed… It takes a whole lot of willpower to get on an exercise… program to lose weight… If you add on the list: get on a budget… keep your office clean, and read Calvin’s Institutes every week, you set yourself up for failure… For most of us… our wills get depleted… more quickly than our bodies.”
Ortberg suggests these: (1) Schedule your most important tasks for when your willpower is strongest. For many people, that’s the morning. One study shows prisoners have a better shot at parole if their case is heard in the morning when the judge has a higher reserve of willpower and is more inclined to take a chance.
(2) Spend willpower wisely by not taking on too many tasks at once, even after you have prayed about them. Generally, God works through your will, and He seldom gives you a free pass to disregard the laws of finitude He created.
(3) Set goals – but not too many. Lacking a few, we drift, but having an overabundance means we worry about them, accomplish less, and suffer emotionally and physically.
(4) Remember that the one act of your will that replenishes willpower instead of depleting it is surrender. God meant for prayer, solitude, worship, and meditation to be done in a way that restores us.
Soul food: Lev 20-21; Luke 23:1-7; Ps 25:16-22; Pro 10:3
Romeine 12:3 NLV
Ons het oordrewe idees van ons vermoëns. Ons hou daarvan om te dink dat ons alles kan doen. Dit maak egter nie saak hoe gedissiplineerd jy is of hoe hard jy probeer nie, as jy jouself nie nugter kan beoordeel nie, stel jy jouself vir mislukking oop.
John Ortberg sê: ‘Wilskrag is beperk. Jy het nie aparte voorraad in verskillende areas nie. Dis hoekom ‘n lang lys nuwejaarsvoornemens amper altyd in die hek duik. Dit neem baie wilskrag om ‘n oefenprogram om gewig te verloor, te begin. Voeg daarby die voorneme om geld te spaar, jou kantoor skoon te hou en elke week ‘n boek te lees en jy stel jouself vir mislukking oop. Die meeste van ons se wilskrag gee in voor ons liggame ingee.’
Ortberg stel die volgende voor: 1) Skeduleer jou belangrikste take vir wanneer jou wilskrag die sterkste is. Vir baie mense vind dit in die oggend plaas. Een studie wys dat gevangenes ‘n beter kans op parool het as hulle saak in die oggende aangehoor word, wanneer die regter ‘n hoër reserwe wilskrag het en meer geneig is om ‘n kans te neem.
2) Bestee jou wilskrag met wysheid deur nie te veel take op dieselfde tyd aan te pak nie.
3) Stel doelwitte – maar nie te veel nie. Wanneer ons te min doelwitte het, dobber ons rond, maar te veel doelwitte veroorsaak dat ons onsself oor hulle bekommer, minder bereik en fisies en emosioneel daaronder ly.
4) Onthou dat die een daad van jou wil wat wilskrag opvul eerder as uitput, oorgawe is. God het bedoel dat ons gebed, afsondering, lofprysing en meditasie op so ‘n manier moet doen, dat dit ons sal herstel.
Sielskos: Lev 20-21; Luk 23:1-7; Ps 25:16-22; Spr 10:3
2022-04-11
Galasiërs 6:2 AFR83
Het jy al ooit iets gesê wat jy gewens het jy kon terugneem? Jy het al, né? Chuck Swindoll skryf: ‘Ons tree impulsief op en besef, na die tyd, hoe dwaas ons was. Boonop maak ons die mense vir wie ons die liefste is, seer. Al hierdie dinge druk swaar op ons gemoed en ons wonder hoe enigiemand, veral God, vir ons kan lief wees. Wanneer ons so begin dink, moet ons ons gedagtes op die ‘mekaar’ in die Nuwe Testament rig. Wees lief vir mekaar, bou mekaar op, wys mekaar tereg, bemoedig mekaar, lewe in vrede met mekaar, bely julle sondes teenoor mekaar, praat met mekaar, bid vir mekaar. ‘Dra mekaar se laste…’ (Galasiërs 6:2 AFR83).
Dink aan twee bergklimmers. Een het ‘n ligte rugsak terwyl die ander arme siel onder sy bagasie steier. Dit kan ‘n langslewende wrok wees wat sy binneste vergiftig. Of ‘n gebroke verhouding met sy vrou of een van sy kinders wees. Die rugsak kan met onbetaalde rekeninge oorlaai wees. Die vraag is: Waar kan hy gaan om af te pak? Wat hy nodig het, is ‘n plek waar daar persoon-tot-persoon omgee en opregte deelname is. Waar hy vry, sonder skaamte, kan voel om sy geheim of stryd te deel. Waar iemand na hom sal luister, hom sal help afpak en hom nuwe krag sal gee.
Volwasse selgroepe is nie miniatuur kerkdienste nie. Hulle is groepe mense wat Christus liefhet en daarin glo om mekaar te help. Hulle wys nie vinger of preek of vergelyk nie. Hulle is jou broers en susters in Christus. Is jy by ‘n selgroep betrokke? Indien nie, oorweeg dit om by een aan te sluit of een te begin.’ Sodra jy begin afpak, sal jy agterkom hoeveel makliker die reis voel.
Sielskos: Lev 18-19; Luk 22:63-71; Ps 25:8-15; Spr 10:2
Galatians 6:2 KJV
Have you ever said something you wish you could take back? You have, haven’t you? Chuck Swindoll writes: “We act impulsively and realize, after the fact, how foolish we were… On top of all that, we hurt the ones we love the most. All this stuff caves in on us… and we wonder how anybody could ever love us… especially God. When we start thinking like this, we need to turn our mind to the ‘one anothers’ in the New Testament. Love one another, build up one another, live in peace with one another, confess your sins to one another, speak to one another, admonish one another, comfort one another, pray for one another. ‘Bear one another’s burdens’ (Galatians 6:2 NKJV).
Imagine two mountain hikers. One… has a… light pack… while the other poor soul… is… loaded down… It could be a long-standing grudge… poisoning his insides… [Or,] a broken relationship with his wife or one of his kids. That pack could be loaded with unpaid bills. The question is, Where can… [he] go to unload? By sitting in church alongside a… couple thousand other folks? Hardly. What he needs… is… a place where there is person-to-person caring and… authentic sharing. Where he will feel free, without embarrassment… to tell his secret or state his struggle; where someone will listen, help him unload, and give him fresh strength.
Adult fellowships… are not miniature church services. They are pockets of people who love Christ and believe in helping one another. They don’t point fingers or preach or compare. They are your brothers and sisters in Christ… Are you involved in a… fellowship group? If not, consider joining or starting [one].” Once you begin unloading, you will discover how much easier the journey seems.
Soul food: Lev 18-19; Luke 22:63-71; Ps 25:8-15; Pro 10:2
Galatians 6:2 NKJV
Have you ever said something you wish you could take back, held on to a grudge and been reluctant to forgive, or struggled to pass your worries over to God? The author Chuck Swindoll wrote: ‘All this stuff caves in on us… and we wonder how anybody could ever love us… especially God. When we start thinking like this, we need to turn our mind to the “one anothers” in the New Testament. Love one another, build up one another, live in peace with one another, confess your sins to one another, speak to one another, admonish one another, comfort one another, pray for one another. “Bear one another’s burdens.” Imagine two mountain hikers. One… has a… light pack… while the other poor soul… is… loaded down… It could be a long-standing grudge… [or] a broken relationship… That pack could be loaded with unpaid bills. The question is, Where can… [they] go to unload?’
We all need a safe place to unburden ourselves of our troubles. Just sitting in church with any number of other people isn’t going to do it. We can (and should) tell God about everything that’s weighing down our minds, but He’s also placed people around us to share our worries face-to-face, to help us make sense of the chaos of our problems, and to support us on our journey through them. There’s an old saying: ‘A problem shared is a problem halved.’
Other people may not necessarily take our burden from us, but there’s something powerful and liberating in sharing our worries. So who’s your safe place? Who are the trusted people in your life that will listen without judging or causing embarrassment? And could you be the trusted friend, the ‘safe place’ for someone else?
Lev 18-19; Luke 22:63-71; Ps 25:8-15; Pro 10:2
